


Hey Kiddo

by TheLady0fShalott



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bonding, Bonus Scene, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Jason is Damian's Dad, One Shot, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24764869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLady0fShalott/pseuds/TheLady0fShalott
Summary: AU. Jason’s plans for Gotham take a detour as Damian shows up unexpectedly from Infinity Island claiming he wants Jason to teach him how to blend into normal society.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Damian Wayne
Comments: 17
Kudos: 190





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The events are loosely based on the Red Hood - The Lost Days Comics.

Jason had been in Gotham a few months as he scouted out everything for his plan, what that plan was he was still figuring out. He had intended to come back to Gotham and kill the Joker, that was about as far as he’d gotten.

As he walked down an alley somewhere in midtown he felt the hairs on the back of his neck were starting to prick up and a moment later he heard the swish of fabric and a small but savage scream. 

Turning quickly Jason stepped to the side and avoided the wooden sword as it was brought down where he’d been standing a moment before. Crouching and barely managing to make the landing was Damian Al Ghul. The little seven year old boy pointed his wooden sword at Jason. He had known Damian almost since birth when Jason had lived with the Shadows. Reaching out quickly Jason caught Damian’s arm and pulled the child to his feet taking the wooden sword away from him in the process. “What the h-” he cut the curse off remembering in time that this was a child he was talking to. “Damian why are you attacking me and what are you doing in Gotham?”

“I came to Gotham to… um… visit you” a clear lie but it was odd that Damian would lie at all. Damian had never been prone to lying to him before.

“Yeah?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow at the small boy.

“Yeah,” Damian said with a challenge in his little voice “and I almost got the drop on you, if I'd wanted to kill you, Jason, you would have been dead.” 

“Noted,” Jason said, “anyone know you're here?” he asked.

“No,” Damian said, “I can do what I want.”

“Then I’m calling your mom,” Jason said.

“She knows I’m here, but no one else does,” Damian amended quickly, another untruth Jason noted. 

“Come on then,” Jason said.

“Where are we going?” Damian asked as they walked,

“First to get you something else to wear, you know, part of being a ninja is blending in.” 

Damian looked down at the clothes he was wearing. They were the kind of things that the Shadow’s always wore: a tunic with a high collar, ninja boots and a cap. Looking around [he saw] no one else was dressed like that.

“Okay, so teach me more about blending into Gotham,” Damian said. He'd never been off Infinity Island and had never had to interact in society very much outside of the Shadows.

“Come on kiddo,” Jason said, he took Damian with him to a second hand shop.

“These clothes used to be owned by other people,” Damian said, giving them a less than impressed look.

“Yeah, lots of people wear second hand clothes. Especially growing kids,” Jason said. He picked out a few changes for Damian and once the boy was dressed less like he was on his way to a Halloween party they hit the streets again.

Jason texted Talia that Damian was with him while the little boy was changing. As he had thought Damian had vanished from the island the day before.

“What now?” Damian asked, “what else do I need to know about blending in?” 

“Like what?” Jason asked.

“Like… some kind of activity,” Damian said. “Yes, I insist- would like,” Damian corrected from a demand to a request, “to do some kind of activity where I can work at blending in.” 

Jason said, “Sure,” as his eyes landed on a poster for the carnival.

They stood on the street waiting for the light to change on their way to the bus stop. As the light turned to walk Jason held out his hand for Damian to hold.

“I don’t need to hold anyone's hand going across the street,” Damian said, his little eyes trying to show toughness.

“We’re blending in and in Gotham kids your age hold adults' hands to cross the street,” Jason said. He watched slightly amused as Damian thought about it then took his hand and they walked across the street.

* * *

Damian looked around the huge city, he’d never been away from the small closed off island and he was beginning to feel something like nervousness. Damian swallowed that back and tried to focus on why he’d come there.

They got on the bus and Jason paid for the tickets, a bus ride later they came to the fair grounds where a carnival was set up. As they walked through the colorful and brightly lit stalls Jason suggested Damian play a few games and got him candy and fried foods. It was nothing like the island. Damian stuck close to Jason and started feeling less overwhelmed as they played games and walked through the carnaval.

* * *

At the end of the evening Jason was sitting on a bench with Damian who was dozing off against his side after a day of fun, food and candy. They’d been there for hours and Damian had won several prizes at the game booths. The plush animals were all stuffed in a bag. Jason shouldered the bag and lifting Damian up he slowly walked back to the bus stop carrying the little boy.

Jason came into the cheap hotel, his shoulder aching from carrying Damian’s bag full of all the prizes he’d won. His other arm was holding Damian who’d fallen into a sugar fueled burnout coma. “We need a room,”Jason said.

“What a sweet boy,” the woman said as she typed in the information into the computer system. 

“Thanks, he’s my son” Jason said, he was just a little too old to pass as Damian’s older brother.

“How old is he?” the woman asked as she gave Jason the key.

“Seven, and at the moment mostly made out of cotton candy,” Jason said. The woman smiled and gave him the key.

Entering into the room Jason dumped the bags on the floor and placed Damian on one of the twin beds. He pulled off the little boy’s shoes and emptied his pockets and tucked Damian in with one of the plush animals under his little arm. 

Sitting on the other bed Jason relaxed a moment, his mind slowly drifting back. It was easy now to remember when he’d gone to the fair with Alfred and Bruce as a boy. Jason remembered Alfred handing him a candied apple and Bruce playing games with him. Jason pushed those thoughts away. That was all the past, it was different now, everything was different now.

The next morning over breakfast Jason sat across from Damian in a diner. “So, I’m your dad-” Jason started.

“What, how?” Damian spluttered a moment cutting him off.

“Wow calm down, not really, I mean… humm…” for a moment Jason’s mind flew back to Talia. “Anyway, I told the lady at the front desk I was your dad since it would be weird to keep a kid I’m not related to hanging around. So since the name of the game is blending in until you go home, I'm your dad got it?” Jason said.

“Umm… yeah, it’s okay with me that you're my dad.” Damian seemed to be dazed a little. “You have known me since I was born so I don’t know why people would have a problem with that,” Damian added.

“Yeah, I guess I have,” Jason said, remembering when he’d first held the tiny baby that Talia had handed him the first time he’d met the boy.

“So _Dad_ , can I get some extra whipped cream on this?” Damian said, shifting his plate a little to indicate the waffles.

“I think it’s almost required,” Jason said, calling back the waitress. Damian never got treated to this kind of food or fun on the island.

* * *

It was nice to call Jason dad but also weird. He had called Jason by name his entire life. This reminded Damian of why he’d come to Gotham. Damian glanced at Jason, it was clear that Jason didn’t know. Damian’s mother, Talia, had never told anyone the truth. It had pleased Damian’s grandfather to think that Damian’s father was Bruce Wayne, when in reality it was Jason. Damian himself had only found out a few weeks ago and his mother didn’t know he knew. Damian wanted to stay with Jason and get to know him as a father. But he kept wondering if he should tell Jason or not, he didn’t know what to do.

“Hey kiddo, everything ok?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine… Dad,” Damian said liking the way it felt to say it.


	2. BONUS SCENE: BARBASOL AND BONDING

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bonus scene that I came up with it take place in the morning before breakfast.

Jason ran a hand over his face feeling the prickle, he needed a shave. He'd never liked having a beard and if he left it much longer one was going to be growing in soon. Rising quietly, it was early in the morning. Jason went into the bathroom of the cheap hotel he was staying at in Gotham and took a shower.

After softening up the hairs with the hot water Jason pulled on pants and started shaking the Barbasol can. 

“What’s that?” Damian asked from the now partly opened door.

“Shaving cream,” Jason said.

“Grandfather always uses a bar of soap,” the little boy said.

“Yeah well that’s because the Shadows are about 500 years behind the times” Jason said.

“How’s it work?” Damian asked, his face still had the wrinkles from the pillow on it.

“Come here and I’ll show you,” Jason said. Damian pushed the door further open and came in. Jason put down the can and picking Damian up placed him on the counter.

“You shake the can and then press down on the top button” Jason said dispensing a little soap into his palm. Damian took the can and pressed down on the button until there was a large dollop in Jason’s hand.

“Then you put it on your whiskers like this” Jason said using his other hand to apply the cream. He could see that Domain was interested, mostly likely because it was a novelty to him. The League really was so far behind the times it was scary. Jason spotted what was left in his hand on each side of Damian’s face.

“Hey” Damian complained, wrinkling his nose “I don’t shave”.

“Gotta learn sometime” Jason said amused.

Damian seemed to think this over for a moment then nodding and watched carefully as Jason took his razor and wetting it showed Domain how to shave without pulling the whiskers. 

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Damian applied the shaving cream on his cheeks over the rest of his face. Jason gave Damian other razors he had with the safety cap still on it for him to mock shave with.

“Yeah, just like that” Jason said. He took the damp towel and whipped off the extra traces of cream from his own face. He watched for a moment as Damian carefully removed the cream from his smooth cheeks as if trying to avoid pulling on real whiskers.

For a moment Jason’s mind drifted back to his own dad, Willis Todd, during one of those good memories. He’d been younger than Damian by a year or two then, his dad rubbing shaving cream all over his own face and then putting some on Jason’s smooth cheeks. Willis had shown him how to mock save. It was nothing more than pure fun and one of the few memories Jason had of his dad.

“Ok finished?” he asked as Damian tapped the last little bit of cream into the sink.

“Yeah,” Damian said.

“Ok, whip off the excess” Jason handed him the towel. Once that was done Jason took his aftershave and put a little in his palm and then a small bit in Damian’s much smaller hand that was held out.

“Rub your hands together then pat it over your face, this helps soothe the skin so you don’t get razor burn” Jason said.

Damian watched carefully and then patted his own face all over with the aftershave. Jason could see that Damian was enjoying himself. At the same time he could also see that the little boy, who was expected to behave like an adult, was still figuring out how to have fun as a child.

“Is that it?” Damian asked.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Jason said. Damian slid off the counter and went to get dressed for the day while Jason put everything away.

“When will I start getting my beard?” Damian asked.

“I don’t know, between 12 and 15 ish I guess” Jason said.

“When did you start getting yours?” Damian asked.

“I think I was 13,” Jason said, trying to remember as he put on his shoes.

“So about 6 more years then” Damian said.

“Maybe” Jason said “it varies person to person.”

“What are we doing today?” Damian asked.

“Let’s start with breakfast and see where we are after that,” Jason stood, “come on kiddo” he added, heading for the door with Damian beside him.


End file.
